Survival Horror
by Rozella
Summary: After the attack on the police station, two Raccoon City survivors find themselves braving an abandoned hospital which might be sheltering more than zombies...(takes place after RE2) 4 Chapters up, but don't expect anything new for a while. -_-;;;
1. The Mission

Part I  ****

Part I

The abnormal phenomenon that had swept through Raccoon City had come so suddenly that its effects were as unexpected as the virus. People became violently sick, complaining of nausea and skin irritation. The hospital in the downtown area became overrun with people who suffered from the disease, and the question of a quarantine came up. But since the city was so large, and it was undetermined as to how far the virus had spread, many were happy to simply nip it in the bud and soon the hospital was held under a strict quarantine. No one left, and only those who were showing the peculiar symptoms were taken in. Not long after that, patients who seemed to have been suffering from an acute case of hysteria attacked hospital staff members and other patients. Strangely, no one stepped in to cease the attacks, and soon the hospital stood quiet. 

And then there were the strange creatures that had begun to make appearances. The wild dogs that had been spotted in the Arklays a few months back were now being sighted within the suburban areas of Raccoon. Mysterious, supposedly "skinless" animals were being reported to local authorities, and a handful of citizens were actually attacked by some. People began to drop from site and within one month over 3/4's of the city had become infected by the virus or killed by the creatures. Zombie like persons were roaming the streets, more unnatural creatures were spotted, and through all of this the authorities were losing all of the control. The number of murders and suicides rose dramatically as the population was slowly, and quite literally eaten away. Soon, there was nowhere left to run except the Raccoon City Police Department, and even then there were massive attacks waged by the zombified citizens. 

Jace Hall held his head in his hands as he listened to the drone of the horrified murmurs and sobs which echoed throughout the magnificent lobby of the PD. Once it was a library, and even after the renovation it still felt like it. The ceiling was high enough to accommodate three balconies. A rather lavish fountain stood 40 feet from the main entrance, the RPD's seal painted on the floor before it. Two ramps, one on each side of the fountain led up to a receptionist's desk, a door to the west of it in an alcove. A set of double doors were also on the west wall, propped open and leading to the waiting room which was reserved now for the wounded, and another one was on the east wall. 

Tiredly, Jace stood from his spot on the small set of steps in front of the entrance and slowly walked over to the waiting room, half expecting to see his sister in there. But he knew better than that. She was gone, probably dead like their brother Sean who had gone so insane with fear that he had shot himself in the head right in front of Jace. It was an image he wasn't soon to forget. 

__

This is all just too crazy to be real, Jace thought to himself. _It's all just some kind of nightmare come true..._

The waiting room was practically overflowing with injured citizens who were now beginning to resemble the living dead. Unlike the majority of the people at the PD, Jace thought it to be very unwise to keep them in such close proximity to the others. The virus that was going around was already ruled not to be airborne, but what if an attack like the one at the hospital came about? The wounded-to-survivor ratio was dreadfully unbalanced; Jace and the others would never stand a chance. But there didn't seem to be anything he could do to change everybody's minds. People weren't about to just shoot their family members or loved ones once they started complaining about itchy skin. Once, when speaking out against harboring the wounded in the waiting room, he had been accused of becoming callused to the situation, that he was probably just a drifter with no family of his own. Those comments had abruptly shocked him into silence, and he retreated to the steps at the front of the lobby. 

__

Maybe I HAVE become callused. Maybe I've learned to accustom myself to the site of death so well that I just don't care anymore... 

Well, he wasn't a drifter, that was for sure. He had held down a steady desk job in Raccoon for 3 years, working to support himself and two siblings, only to have all of that flushed down the crapper in the seconds it took to fire a gun. _I should just eat a bullet like Sean...there's nothing else here and there's no way out of the city..._

A sudden scream coming from the back of the lobby yanked Jace out of his thoughts. Glancing in the direction of the reception desk he instantly spotted the source. A burly, unstable looking man had a gun held on a rather frightened secretary. 

"Where the fuck is my wife!" he shouted furiously. 

"I don't know!" she replied in terror. "She may be with the injured--!" 

The crazy man lunged forward and grabbed the scared young woman by the throat as he pressed the barrel of the gun to her forehead. "She wasn't bitten! Tell me where she is you little bitch before I kill you!" 

Jace was stunned. Nobody made a move to help the young woman, it was as if everyone was doing their best to ignore the situation. 

Pushing away from the door, Jace ran up the ramp, picking his way through families who were camped out on the floor. Before the receptionist could be harmed, Jace grabbed the man by his thick arm and pulled him away from her. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Jace growled. "She doesn't know where your wife is so why don't you leave her alone!" 

The man had a glazed, drunken look in his eyes that Jace recognized as dangerous. "Who the fuck are you?" the big man demanded. 

"That doesn't matter--" 

The drunk pivoted gracelessly to face him and said, "Why don't you keep your fucking nose out of other people's business? You may live longer!" 

"Is that a threat?" 

"Of course it is--" 

All of a sudden Jace brought back his fist and slammed it into the drunk man's face. Already dazed from excessive alcohol, he groaned and crumpled to the floor. Rubbing his aching fist, Jace glared down on him. He had never hit somebody like that before, but the feeling it gave him was exhilarating. 

Jace looked at the woman who gawked at him in shock. "Are you okay?" he asked, shaking his hand a little. 

"Y-yes," she stammered, the surprise slowly fading from her green eyes. "Thank you..." 

Jace smiled, deciding he liked this girl. She looked about twenty two, a year or two younger than him, and she was attractive, in a...'cute' kind of way. Her long brown hair was tied back in a loose ponytail, and even though she still appeared to be a little shaken, there was something in her eyes that told him she was a relatively smart, tough young woman. 

__

If she wasn't, could she have survived this long? 

"I'm Jace Hall," he said, nodding to her. 

"Lena Lawrence," she said. 

"Nice to meet you Lena." 

"Likewise," she replied as she looked down at the man who had attacked her. "He would've killed me if it weren't for you." 

"Ah, it was nothing," he said nonchalantly. 

Lena gave him a small smile and for a moment, neither of them said anything. Noticing her casual attire (a blue RPD jacket over a white shirt and blue jeans) Jace asked, "How long have you worked here?" 

"About two months," she said distantly, turning her attention to the computer next to her upon hearing a small beep. "I moved here from New York to get out on my own. Just my luck something like this would happen." She sighed. "I'm just glad I was able to dissuade my parents from coming here." 

Lena's brow furrowed when another electronic sound was emitted from the machine. "Damn I hate technology," she muttered. "What about you? Are you here with family?" 

Jace felt his stomach clench. "No," he said sullenly, his voice devoid of emotion. "They're all dead." 

Lena looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry." 

Jace shook his head as if to dismiss it. "Look, I'm just going to go sit down for awhile. I don't feel so hot..." 

"Was is something I said?" 

"No, no, I'm just a little tired, and all of this...it's just draining." He gave her a wan smile. "But it was nice meeting you. Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you, all right?" 

Without waiting for a response, Jace turned and headed back to the steps.   


Lena watched as Jace slowly walked away from her, still nursing his hand. _He's too nice. I hope he didn't hurt his hand too badly..._

Sighing to herself, Lena came around the desk to the drunk man on the floor, who was now quietly moaning to himself. She picked up his gun that he had dropped, sparing it a glance before she tucked it into her waistband. 

__

A magnum. This could come in handy. 

Pulling a pair of handcuffs from her back pocket, Lena rolled him over onto his stomach somewhat awkwardly and cuffed his hands together. "Congratulations," she murmured. "You're under arrest for assaulting a police officer." 

"Ugh," he groaned. "Laws are useless now you stupid bitch." 

Lena glared at him. "Not until every last one of us is dead." 

"Heh, that won't be long..." 

Rolling her eyes, Lena sat him up against the desk and went back to the computer. She had been trying to get the door lock mechanisms back on line before another battle could ensue. If she could just get the doors open then they'd be able to find safer places for people to take refuge. 

__

If the library hasn't been attacked yet, it'd be perfect. Or upstairs reception... 

She typed in another command, only to receive another rejection. "Dammit!" she yelled, slapping the countertop in frustration. "What the hell is wrong with this thing?" 

And then a message came up: 

HALL SIDE DOOR LOCKED....USE KEY CARD?

She couldn't believe it. "A key card?" 

Sighing exhaustedly, Lena slumped to the floor. She was so tired, she hadn't slept in a long time, and, once again, her efforts to try and help had proven fruitless. Granted, she knew what she needed to open the doors now, but that key card could be anywhere, and the police station was huge! She'd never be able to find it on her own... 

"Lena?" 

At hearing the sergeant's voice, Lena slumped down even lower. 

__

No, not again... 

The sergeant had kept her on a 24 hour call since she was the only one qualified enough to be a medic. _...except for that S.T.A.R.S. girl. I wonder where she disappeared to?_

The sergeant yelled for her again and Lena considered just hiding under the desk. She didn't feel that she would be able to treat another disease ridden citizen without collapsing. 

"Lena, we have an emergency! Where are you?" 

Moaning, she climbed slowly to her feet and turned to the sergeant who was standing before her. 

"What were you doing down there?" he asked. 

"Resting," she said softly. "I'm dog tired, sir." 

The sergeant threw his hands up and said, "There's no time for us to rest, Lena! We have a job to do! It is our duty to serve and protect these people!" 

Resting on her elbows she said casually, "Well, I think I've got the 'protect' part down fine, it's the 'serve' that's worn me out completely. Sir, if you want to save these people, you have to give them proper medical attention that I just can't provide. They need doctors, not field medics." 

"You know as well as I do that the hospital is unserviceable--" 

"But there are plenty of doctors in this town! Are you telling me that not one of them are in here?" 

"They were among the first to become infected. Their patients gave it to them and it circulated that way." 

__

Great... 

"I can't even do anymore for them," she argued. "I'm all out of medical supplies. The hospital is a warehouse." 

And that's when it came to her. 

"Sir, why don't I go to the hospital and get more supplies?" 

The sergeant's eyes grew wide in surprise. "No, I can't let you do that! It's too dangerous!" 

"But it's dangerous here too. There have already been attacks, most of the force is dead and wandering the halls, and I can't get these damn door locks to work. If you'll just let me get to the hospital, I might be able to save some of these people." 

"Lena," he started, but paused. What she said made a little sense and he began to consider her words. There was a few moments of thoughtful silence, the murmur of talking citizens echoing dimly in the spacious chamber. 

Finally he said carefully, "If you can find someone who's willing to go with you AND can use a handgun...all right." 

Only mildly insulted at the insinuation that she couldn't take care of herself, Lena thanked the sergeant and immediately left the reception desk to find Jace. 

Luckily she didn't have to search long. He was sprawled out on the steps, his hands crossed over his chest as he gazed at the ceiling in silence. Lena stifled a smile. He was tall with dark brown hair and turquoise eyes, and a form that hinted subtly that he worked out once in a while. Not completely gorgeous, but not bad, either... 

"Jace?" 

He instantly looked in her direction. "What's up?" 

"I need to ask a favor of you," she said quickly. "I need someone to come with me to the hospital. I need to pick up some med supplies." 

"You get right to the point, don't you," he smiled. "Yeah sure, I'll go." 

She hadn't expected him to answer so quickly. _He could at least think about it..._

"You will?" 

"Yeah. I'm not really helping anyone here and I really don't care about life or death seeing as how we're damned anyway. Sure, let's go." 

Lena raised an eyebrow at him. "My my, aren't you cynical." 

"It isn't cynicism, it's honesty." 

She gave him a questioning look and said, "Fine. Let me just inform the sergeant and we're out of here--" 

"Whoa wait, you're an officer?" 

She nodded. 

Now it was Jace's turn to look at her questioningly. "You didn't tell me that." 

"Well, it's pretty much assumed seeing as how I'm wearing the jacket and carrying a gun. Plus, you never asked me." 

"Touché." 

"Wait here." Lena walked back up to the reception desk where the sergeant was waiting patiently. 

"You find someone already?" he asked. 

"Yes sir." 

"Do they know how to use a gun?" 

"Yep," said a new voice. Lena turned around to face Jace who was standing right behind her, his hands in his pockets. "You manage to learn pretty quick in a town like this," he said. 

The sergeant nodded. "Come with me. I'll get you both some sidearms and ammunition." 

Lena and Jace followed the older man through the door on the west wall, into the main office. The sergeant opened a weapons locker and produced two Berettas and six clips. Lena refused the semi-automatic and pulled out the magnum. "No thanks, I'm already armed." 

"Where did you get that?" the sergeant inquired. 

"Confiscated it from a crazy citizen, sir." 

The sergeant nodded in approval, handed Jace a gun and three clips, then replaced the other gun and ammo with four speed loaders for her magnum. 

"One more thing," he said as he reached back into the locker. "I want you two to remain in close contact during this, er, operation." The sergeant handed them each a radio. "I want you to contact me once you reach the hospital. If anything happens, twisted ankle, fatality, whatever, I want you to report. Understood?" 

"Yes sir," said Lena and Jace nodded. 

"Good. As for transportation, there should be a serviceable patrol car outside of the building. It's been hard keeping track of keys lately, but I can get someone out there to hot-wire it for you if needed." 

"We should get going before it gets too dark," said Jace. "Once twilight comes it REALLY gets dangerous." 

Lena could see that he knew what he was talking about, but there was something else, something that told her he was a little frightened, contrary to what he said. He did a good job at concealing his fear though, and she decided that the sergeant couldn't tell, which was for the better. 

She looked to her sergeant and felt an emotional pang. He was a good man, late thirties, married with two children, a boy and a girl; Lena had met them earlier. But in the two months that she had known him he had been good to her, unlike her previous sergeant who was no beginner when it came to sexual discrimination. 

He smiled, a small, remorseful smile. "Good luck Lena," he said. 

"Thank you sir," she said softly. "Good bye." 


	2. Darkness

Part II  ****

Part II

There was a brief spark and a snap before the stinging smell of burnt wires rose with a plume of smoke from the fuse box. Muttering darkly to himself, Victor Warner slammed the panel shut and wiped his hands off on his white coat. Just by crossing one wrong wire he'd completely blown the rest of the fuses, leaving the east wing of the hospital in darkness. 

__

Well, at least the elevators still work... 

He listened frustratedly as the backup generator hummed to life, before sputtering back out. The stairs were now the only way to get between floors. 

__

Goddamn _it! I have one clip left, the batteries are dying in this flashlight, there's no power, and I'm the only living person here! What the hell did I do to deserve this?!_

Distantly he could hear the pathetic moans and wails of his compatriots. Oddly, they sounded closer than usual, almost as if they were at the stairs. Victor stared at the doorway to his immediate right and groaned. They _were_ at the stairs, probably hovering at the landing, waiting for him to resurface to make a run for his office. 

__

They can't move down stairs, thank God. Finally, a break... 

Turning from the still-smoking fuse box Victor swept the beam of light from his flashlight across the basement of the hospital, finally resting on a metal shelf that held tons of medical supplies. He should probably pick up some first aid kits while he was down there, lest he be bitten and have to come back downstairs. 

He sighed. The last week had to have been the worst he'd ever had to experience. After the quarantine was called, he had been outraged at the city for their ignorance to the situation. Simply shutting down _one_ building wasn't going to be enough to stop the outbreak of a hellish disease that had the city in a death grip. Numerous others who weren't yet infected had been trapped inside with the carriers, sent to their deaths because the big boys in power were putting on a show. They had about as much of an idea as to what should be done about the situation as a toddler with a fork and a light socket.. 

Which meant do what first comes to mind, no matter how many citizens you kill in the process. 

Victor had already killed most of his comrades, seeing as how all of the rules had been unalterably changed. It was now eat, or be eaten. Which, he reflected, most of them had literally done. _Before I put a bullet in each of 'em..._

He grabbed a can of first aid spray, a roll of gauze, and a few other medical supplies that he had found were useful in delaying the zombification process, before creeping back to the foot of the stairs, tucking the items into his jacket and shining the beam up to the landing. Sure enough, there were two nurses moaning and swaying at the top, grasping the air as soon as the light hit them in the face. 

__

Good, not the strongest... 

Victor steeled himself, clenching his jaw in anticipation, and then barreled up the steps, plowing through the nurses with his shoulder like a football player. The zombies gave low, helpless cries and fell backwards, one of them stumbling over her own rotting feet and toppling down the stairs. Victor grinned to himself as he continued to run. He knew it was cruel, but it gave him a sick pleasure whenever he managed to out-do one of those walking monstrosities. 

He turned a corner and scowled. It was almost as if they were reproducing (which he knew was _impossible_) by the minute. There was a rather large group of them huddled near the open doors of the morgue. For a split second he wondered what they were doing there. 

__

Oh shit. They aren't reproducing. They're coming from the morgue! 

Swearing quietly under his breath, Victor glanced around the hall, searching for a way to get around them. _Have to save my bullets..._

His gaze fell on the fire extinguisher attached to the wall. _Better than nothing,_ he thought and pulled it out of its case, unclipping the nozzle and holding it out in front of him as he pulled the pin. He approached them somewhat calmly, and right when the first one turned a bloody eye to face him, he let loose with a spray of compressed carbon dioxide. 

__

FOOOOSH! 

The howls grew louder as the zombies tried to shamble away from the extremity that suddenly coated them. As they were temporarily incapacitated, Victor ran through the group, knocking a few aside with the extinguisher as he dashed to the door at the end of the hall. He hit it hard, knocking it open and stumbling into a new corridor of darkness. As stupid as he knew it was to do, he continued to run, hesitating only long enough to listen for an obstacle that would need to be destroyed. Other than the sound of his loafers slapping the tiled floor, the hallway was silent... 

Until something on the floor lashed out and grabbed him by the ankle. 

Panicking, Victor lost his balance and crashed to the floor, the extinguisher flying from his grasp, and landing beyond his reach. He immediately brought his other foot up and slammed it into the face of the decaying creature, scuffing off the peeling skin on its forehead. He kicked it again and again as it struggled to get its teeth into his flesh. Each strike chipped off a piece of the zombie, until _CRACK!, _its face caved in, gore and chips of bone sticking to his shoe. The body shuddered once as Victor pulled his foot away, and it collapsed in a heap, dark fluids and brain matter leaking out onto the floor. 

Jumping up, he scrambled away from the zombie, forgetting about the lost extinguisher, and went down the hall carefully this time. Luckily, there was nothing else in this hall, and he managed to reach his office without further delay. Still shaking from the rush of adrenaline, Victor quickly stepped into the safe room and shut and locked the door behind him, flicking on the light switch as he did so. Only when the lights remained off did he remember that the generator had failed. 

__

Shit... 

He fished in his pockets for the flashlight, and let out a low growl when he couldn't find it. "Must've dropped it out in the hall," he muttered to nobody in particular. No matter. He was safe, he had the medical supplies, and the door was sturdy. There was no need to worry for a little while. _Hell, I've survived _this _long. I can last longer, that's for damn sure._

Straightening out his jacket, he felt his way over to his desk and dumped the supplies on the desktop. Unless help showed up sometime soon, there was no reason, he decided, to go anywhere. 


	3. Survivors

Part III  ****

Part III

Night had finally settled into the city, everything shrouded in darkness. The patrol car sped through the debris-strewn streets, pushing one-fifty easily, flashing past the zombies and mutations. Jace glanced at Lena from the passenger's seat, giving her a nervous smile. Lena smiled confidently back at him. "Don't worry," she said. "I've done this before. Haven't crashed yet." 

Jace chuckled. "Yet? Let's hope you don't crash at all." 

"Sure," she said as she veered sharply to the right, the tires screaming on the pavement as the rear end of the car fishtailed, trying to balance out. 

Lillith Memorial Hospital was clear on the other side of the city, a long walk if she flipped the car. Jace tried to ignore the fact that they were reaching towards one-sixty-five, and looked away from the speedometer. "Who taught you how to drive, anyway?" he said. 

She laughed. "My uncle. He's blind, you know." 

For a moment, he looked at her as if she were serious. Then, realizing she was kidding, he laughed too. She turned another corner, running into a man that was standing in the middle of the street, one arm raised in front of him, the other....ugh, the other one lying in the road beside him. He rolled off the bumper and landed face-down on the pavement. "God, what's happened to this city?" Lena murmured. 

"Your guess is as good as mine," said Jace. He turned away from the window and looked at her. "So you're on your own here?" 

A brief look that Jace didn't recognize flashed by on her delicate features. "Yeah," she said softly. "Everyone else is in New York." 

He expected her to go on, but she fell silent. _She's lying about something..._ He dismissed the topic and said, "Been a cop long?" 

She seemed a little more at ease with that subject and said, "Two years. I'm still just a rookie, but I love what I do. What about you? What did you do for work before all of this happened?" 

"Had a desk job with that pharmaceutical company. Ya know, Umbrella Inc.? Stayed with them for about three years. Job sucked, but the money was great." 

"So you were a chemist or something?" 

He laughed. "I wish. Nah, I handled the public relations. Anytime somethin' happened that might've been Umbrella's fault, I was their guy. Sent me out to press conferences to quell whatever trouble they'd gotten themselves into. Remember the mansion explosion in the Arklays?" 

Lena nodded. It had caused so much excitement in the papers, and managed to stay on the front page for weeks. 

"The media claimed that Umbrella should be held responsible," he continued, "seeing as how it was their estate and a few trace chemicals were found in the ash. Then that S.T.A.R.S. group had to join in and started spreading stuff around about secret experiments in the basement. With all sorts of rumors out there, it was a hell of a job to quiet everything down..." 

"But was it true? Was it really Umbrella's fault?" 

He shrugged. "Not really any of my business. I was paid to keep the company's name unscathed. I wondered, though. There was always something that didn't seem right. Ah, but I just dismissed it, went out there, and before I knew what happened, the blame was thrown back at S.T.A.R.S." 

Lena frowned. "So are _you_ the one responsible for having them run out of town?" 

"No, no, I don't think so. I just delivered their side of the story. Everything else was either from the press, or Umbrella themselves. It's a shame that that group had to skip town, though." 

"I'll say. Chief Irons had a fit. Started rambling 'bout how Umbrella was trying to ruin his town. I swear, I think that guy may be a little..." 

"Insane?" 

"Yeah. All that crazy art of his, and those random outbursts...I wonder how he was ever appointed Chief of Police." 

They were both quiet for a while, the hum of the engine filling in the silence slightly. Jace looked her over again. She really was cute, the kind of girl he would normally go for. Average, not strikingly beautiful, but with enough character to catch your eye and maybe hold it for a while. _Stop it!_, he scolded himself. _Get your mind on something else...and look out the window!_

Jace tore his gaze from her and returned to worrying about flipping the car.   


Lillith Memorial Hospital stood tall and dark in the chilly night, the windows boarded up, and the main entrance blocked. Eight floors that harbored the dead, but only a few would hold what they needed. The wind whistled through the surrounding trees, intermingling with the far-off howls of wild animals, and the sad moans of the Raccoon City citizens. The hospital, though, was silent. 

Jace and Lena climbed out of the black-and-white, and for a moment, they just gazed at it, wondering where to start, and what they would find. Would there be survivors? Or just hordes of zombies waiting for fresh blood? Lena shivered and held the magnum tighter in her grip. Throughout this whole scenario she had managed to keep herself safe without coming into contact with an actual zombie. She didn't know how she would feel once she actually shot one. She'd never even shot a normal human being before. 

She looked over at Jace, and he flashed her a grin. "Ready?" he asked. 

Lena nodded, and together they headed towards the barricaded front entrance. She regretted not pressing for any bigger weapons. Sure, she had the magnum that she had managed to confiscate from that psychotic drunk earlier, but what did Jace have? A puny 9 millimeter. 

"Wait," she said, pausing and running back to the patrol car. "There might be something..." 

She trailed off as she popped the trunk, and, lo and behold, she discovered a Remington shotgun and a box of shells. _This should make up for lousy planning._

Lena jogged back to Jace and handed him the weapon and munitions. "Here. This should work a lot better than that Beretta." 

Jace looked the gun over, and tucked the shells into a pocket. "Thanks," he said, and they continued up the dark, cement path, keeping themselves ready for any sudden ambush. 

An overturned ambulance and other discarded vehicles blocked the front doors indefinitely. Lena sighed, tapping her gun thoughtfully against her thigh. "So what do we do?" she asked. "How can we get through _this_?" 

Glancing around, Jace said, "A backdoor." 

"Right. We're just gonna wander around and happen to find a back door that's been conveniently missed when they were sealing this place tighter than Fort Knox." 

He rolled his eyes. "And you said _I _was cynical." 

Jace started forward, keeping the shotgun ready to blast the first thing that moved, disappearing around the side of the building without so much as a glance back to her. Lena frowned. Even though she had only met him an hour ago, she had already managed to pick up on his less-attractive traits. _Not really a kidding kinda guy_, she reflected. _Of course, I can worry about that later. If we get out of this alive I'll have plenty of time to nit-pick._

Checking the rounds in her gun, Lena followed.   


As if the darkness wasn't enough, there had to be a nauseating smell accompanying it. Sarah Carpenter crawled out from beneath the bed she had been hiding under for the last hour or so and brushed the dust off of her already-messy clothes. Faintly, she remembered how her mother used to get upset at her whenever she got the slightest bit dirty. _I buy you nice clothes and then you go out and get them all messed up!_ she would say. _Honestly Sarah, I don't understand you sometimes._

But it had been awhile since her mother had scolded her. In fact, it had been awhile since she had even seen her mother. The last Sarah knew was that she was somewhere inside the hospital. Her father had taken them all there in the middle of the night. He seemed really upset about something, and in the confusion of the events, Sarah had gotten separated from her parents. She didn't know how long it had been since then, but she wanted to leave this awful place quick. There were strange people walking around, killing other people, and then there were the even-stranger monsters that seemed to be everywhere. Red lizards that crawled on the ceilings. One of them had chased her into this room, where she thought it would be safe to hide under the bed. After a while, Sarah eventually cried herself to sleep. 

Shuffling cautiously on rubbery legs, Sarah crept over to the door through which she had entered the room, reaching for the knob when something occurred to her. Here she was alone in a nightmare, fourteen years old, and she was about to go back out into the hall where the monsters were probably waiting for her. Shouldn't she at least have a weapon of some sort? 

Sarah looked around the dark room. When she had first entered she hadn't bothered to look closely at her surroundings. She saw the bed and instantly took cover. But now the she didn't feel as hurried, she realized that the room she was in probably wasn't the safest. A large row of windows ran across the back of the room, allowing moonlight to flow through, illuminating nearly everything inside. As the wind fought against the panes of glass, Sarah could tell they weren't that strong; they shook visibly and rattled like the bones of a skeleton. 

__

Birds... 

Big, black birds swooped and glided on the breezes, hovering near the windows as if searching for a weak pane. One of the ugly birds flittered against the glass, scratching at it with its talons. Two more soon tried the same thing, but bounced from the window when they found it wasn't accomplishing anything. Sarah cocked her head to one side as she noticed how peculiar their flight patterns were, it was almost as if they were grouping together into one big mass of birds, hovering close to the window...and that's when panic slapped her in the face. _No, no they can't do that. They _won't_ do that--_

__

CRASH! 

Sarah screamed in terror as a fat crow slammed into the glass with enough force to shatter it completely, shrieking caws as others followed behind it. Panicking, she flailed her arms above her head, slapping one of the birds down just as more of the windows imploded, letting in more of the hideous birds. She screamed again as another crow swooped at her, trying to claw at her ear, but she ducked her head and spun away, glancing around frantically for something to hide herself in. 

There. To her left she spotted another door, and without even giving it a second thought she ran for it, praying for safety. 

__

Please please please please please-- 

She yanked it open and collapsed inside, slamming the door shut behind her. 

Gasping for air, noticing for the first time the tears that she had shed, Sarah found that she was in a small supply closet. Blankets, first aid, pillows, and some other items she didn't recognize were all resting neatly on shelves. There was a quick fluttering and scratching at the door, but the crows quickly lost interest in it. 

It was back to hiding, and hoping.   


The wood groaned and cracked as Lena and Jace worked together to pry the large plank off of one of the windows that was towards the back of the hospital. This had appeared to be the weakest of the planks, and upon Jace's suggestion, they had utilized a lead pipe as a makeshift crowbar. 

One end of the wood finally popped up, and the plank swung aside, revealing a window that led to a patient's room. Bringing the pipe up like a baseball bat, Jace swung with all his strength and shattered the glass instantly. After thoroughly clearing a way through, he dropped the pipe and said, "There. That wasn't too hard." 

Lena moved forward to climb through, but Jace stopped her. "No. I'll go first, just in case." 

Rolling her eyes, she stepped aside. Even though he seemed to be trying to play the protectorate, Lena would've appreciated it if he had let her just go on ahead. After all, _she _was the cop. Not him. 

"After you," she said. 

Gracefully, he hoisted himself through the window with one hand, landing in a fighter's stance with the shotgun held ready. After a moment, Lena could hear him moving slowly through the room, probably checking for any hidden surprises. So far, no gun shots, so that was good. But when she heard a door open and close, she froze. Either there was a survivor that had stumbled into the room, or he had just left her. 

"Jace?" she whispered hurriedly. 

No response. 

__

Oh no he didn't... "Jace?!" 

Still no answer. 

"JACE!" 

"What?!" he whispered back loudly, obviously no more than a few feet away from the window. 

Inwardly, she sighed in relief. "What's taking so long?" 

He stepped up to the window and offered a hand to help her climb through. "Hey, I don't want to walk right into a deathtrap without making sure I have a small chance first." 

Lena ignored the hand and climbed through with the grace of a gymnast, almost putting his entrance to shame. She glanced around the room, listening closely for danger. 

Complete silence. 

After quickly radioing the sergeant back at the P.D., she whispered,"Well, let's get going," and started forward...tripping over a cord that was lying on the floor. She hit the ground hard, bringing a respirator down with her. BAM! 

Her face burning with embarrassment, Lena groaned and picked herself up as Jace tried his best to stifle his laughter. "Damn respirators," he said. "Always sneakin' up on ya when you aren't ready." 

"Shut up," she grumbled. "Just shut up..." 

"Whatever you say," he laughed. He opened the exiting door a crack, and, after peering out into the hall, held it open for Lena and said, "After you."   


Victor sat up straight in his chair upon hearing the strange noises coming from somewhere nearby. _Glass breaking?....What just fell?? Is there someone else here?_

For a moment, panic gripped him as the thought of more creatures flooding into the hospital ran through his mind. More mindless, flesh-craving monsters that _he_ had to deal with. But what if it wasn't more creatures? What if it were... 

Victor gasped and rose quickly from his seat, grabbing for his gun. The agents. The agents had finally come to dispatch him! But how many had been sent? How was he going to protect himself? He couldn't just hide, that'd be cowardly. Maybe he could get rid of them before they got rid of him. Maybe if he was lucky, they wouldn't know the man they were looking for and ambush them. Maybe it wasn't even the agents, it _could_ be survivors from the city looking for shelter... 

He shook his head. No, there were a lot of idiots in that town, but no one would be that stupid. Why would anyone think a boarded up old building would be safe? Especially one that was reported to be shut down because of a zombie infestation. No, it had to be the agents. _This is the thanks I get after keeping Umbrella's secret! Well, I'm not going down without a fight!_


	4. Ruin

Part 4  ****

Part 4

Christine Lawrence stumbled into the nurse's station, sobbing uncontrollably and wiping blindly at the bloodstains on her uniform. How she had managed to stay alive as long as she had was a mystery to her, but it seemed that her luck had finally run out. When she had been investigating a noise in one of the patient's rooms, she had been brutally ambushed by the person who had once occupied the room. The attack was swift, painful, and judging from the amount of blood she was losing, soon to be fatal. 

Christine collapsed onto the floor, the severity of her wounds disabling her from going any further. Blood was everywhere, soaking into her clothes, pooling idly on the floor, staining her hair, extreme pain accompanying every drop she bled. 

But even as she lay there, her mind racing with panicked thoughts of death, she began to wonder about her twin sister, Lena. Struggling to catch her breath, Christine struggled to stifle her sobs long enough to collect her thoughts. Selena, little Lena, her barely-younger sister was an officer for the city, and even though she _knew_ Lena could take care of herself, there was no way she could've survived long in this city of horror. _Maybe she had been killed on her beat..._

Christine started to breathe in sobbing gasps, the tears returning at the thought of her sister's death. To die in such a brutal way, to never be able to see her again... 

"Oh Lena," she choked, her vision dimming and blurring at the same time. "Oh...God..." 

Summoning the last bit of strength from her aching, burning body, Christine pulled herself towards the desk at the other side of the room. But the strain was too much and she collapsed once more, crying out in despair when she couldn't pull herself back up in the slightest. She was now left completely defenseless, and instead of ending her suffering quickly like she had wanted to do (she knew for a fact that a 9 millimeter handgun was kept in a drawer at the desk for protection), she was going to bleed out. A long, excruciating death. 

Christine closed her eyes and cried, praying for the end.   


The hallway seemed deserted. The only sound that could be heard was that of the clock farther down the corridor on the wall, ticking away the seconds in a dull existence. Lena squinted and managed to make out the time, close to nine o'clock. Late summer sunsets used to be something she enjoyed, a little extra daylight to get things done. _Not anymore_, she thought bitterly. The sun had set on their way to the hospital. 

"Something doesn't seem right," said Jace as he came to stand next to her. "I thought this place was supposed to be a battleground." 

"It is," said Lena, glancing around and suddenly noticing how spotless this hall was. No blood, no gore, no bodies. Completely spotless. She frowned. "I think." 

Jace flicked a switch on the wall and waited for the fluorescent lights above them to flicker on. 

Nothing. 

He flicked it again, and again, and again, but still nothing happened. "Power must be out," he murmured. Jace looked at Lena as if he just remembered something. "Uh, you _did_ bring a flashlight, didn't you?" 

"Flash--uh oh." Lena groaned at her stupidity. Of _course_ she forgot to bring a flashlight, the one thing that would probably be more useful to them than a gun at that moment. "No, I don't have one." 

Jace cringed and looked around. "Okay, okay, not a problem...uhm, a supply closet. I bet there would be a flashlight in an emergency supply closet." 

"That's great," said Lena. "And do you happen to know where one would be?" 

"Uh..." 

She sighed. "I didn't think so." 

"Looks like we're going to have to do this the old fashioned way." Jace reached into a pocket and pulled out a lighter. 

"You smoke?" she asked. 

"No." 

A small flame leapt and danced from the top of the lighter and produced enough light for them to see about two feet in front of them. _Better than nothing._

Lena had, in fact, been to this hospital on more than one occasion. Not that her health was bad, but she had stopped in every now and then to check on her sister. She had lied to Jace, not because she was dishonest, but because the less she had to think or talk about her sister, the more she could concentrate on what was important. 

Which was, at that moment, finding a source of light. 

"Shall we start looking?" said Jace. 

__

The nurse's station! 

Lena jumped. The thought was so urgent, and the feeling of anxiety that suddenly overwhelmed her was frightening. 

Jace looked at her strangely. "Are you okay?" 

__

No. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go." 

Shotgun held at his hip and the lighter in front of him, Jace started forward, and Lena followed with her Magnum held ready. 

__

What if Christine's hiding here? she wondered. _What if she's in the Nurse's Station? Or what if she escaped? She might not even be here. Hell, she's lived in the city longer than I have._

In all actuality, Christine could be anywhere; she knew the city inside and out. That was the only reason Lena even considered taking the transfer from New York. Christine had moved to Raccoon City when she was 17, desperate to get out on her own. Lena, ever the straggler, moved out of her parents' house when she was 18 and went straight to the Police Academy. By the time she had finished her training at the age of 21, Christine was already engaged and holding down a job at South Raccoon City Hospital. 

__

Engaged to one of the doctor's here...Mom was so happy. Christine was so happy... 

Suddenly Jace stopped, Lena almost running into him. 

"What's the matter?" she asked, peering down the hall. 

"Shhh," said Jace quietly, his gaze fixed on something at the end of the hall. Whispering, he added, "I heard something..." 

Lena looked from Jace to the end of the hall. "A zombie...?" 

"Stay here," he said quietly, and crept towards the sound. 

Lena strained to hear what he was hearing, was unable to pick up any sounds other than her own breathing and Jace's footsteps. 

Ignoring Jace's command, Lena crept down the hall after him, her gun held low in front of her. Although it was dark, she could still make out his form. He was pressed against the wall at the very corner, the Remington on the floor, the Berretta held tightly in his grasp. She paused, and waited to see what he was going to do. 

Suddenly he jumped out into the corridor, his gun out in front of him and yelled, "_FREEZE!"_

She heard the mechanical clicks, beeps and whirs from someone operating machinery, and Jace took off running down the hall. Lena took off after him, rounding the corner just in time to see a shadow slip away from the mechanical glass doors at the end of this corridor. Jace stood resigned in the middle of the hall, staring down at a discarded flashlight. 

Coming up behind him, Lena said, "What happened?" 

Jace whirled at the sound of her voice, his gun nearly brushing the tip of her nose. She yelped, and Jace yelled out in turn. "_Jesus! _Don't do that!" he said. 

"Well _sorry_," she snapped. She nodded to the glass doors. "What happened?" 

Taking a deep breath and regaining his composure, he answered, "I saw someone. Male, wearing a lab coat, about my height. He was coming this way down the corridor, had a gun, I saw him begin to raise it. But then he turned around and ran to those doors. I don't know, but I think he might've locked 'em." 

Lena brushed past him and went to the doors. Sure enough, the mechanical locks were enabled, and there didn't seem to be any override command available. _Who could that've been? One of the doctor's?_

Lena's heart leapt at the thought that maybe there really was at least one doctor left alive in this town. Finally, someone with the proper medical knowledge could treat the wounded at the police department. 

__

But why was he going to shoot at Jace? Maybe he thought he was a zombie. But then why did he run? Jace said "Freeze". Zombies don't say "freeze"...at least I don't think they do. 

She turned from the doors and looked to Jace, who now held the flashlight on the panel for her. "Well, we can't get into that wing of the hospital unless there's another way," she said. "But despite that, I think we have a lot of searching to do anyway." 

"Why don't we just shoot the glass?" suggested Jace. 

"Bulletproof. Besides, I think the morgue's that way. I don't think we really need an entire morgue roaming the halls. The place is deserted so far, let's not push our luck." 

"Touché." He sighed. "So, where do we go from here?" 

She frowned. "Good question. I don't exactly have a map, but..." She looked back towards the corridor they had come from. "...if we were to keep going straight from the hall we were in a second ago, there's a hall that splits off from that one farther down that leads to the east wing. The nurse's station is in the west, and the ward rooms are in the east." 

"There would be supplies in the nurse's station, right?" 

Lena nodded. "Most likely." 

"Alright. Since you know what to look for, how 'bout I take the wards, and you take the station? That way you can load up on whatever it is you need, and I could see if there are any survivors." 

She considered the plan for a moment, then nodded. "Okay, yeah. That could work. Oh, but, wait, what do we do about lights?" 

Jace shrugged and handed her the flashlight. "I've got my Zippo. It's not much, but it's enough." 

"Are you sure?" 

He nodded. 

"Alright. Lemme just radio the sergeant and we can get going."   


It was all over. He hadn't expected the end to come so quickly, but things such as these never went as you expected them to. Sergeant Roy Roseleau lay bleeding on the floor behind the reception desk, where Lena Lawrence had stood not too long ago. Officer Lawrence, who had radioed him not 10 minutes earlier. She had called to report their progress, but as soon as she had told him about the survivor, Roseleau had abruptly cut her off, told her to switch objectives. Don't worry about the supplies, he had said. Just get the survivors out of that hospital and out of this town. _What happened?_ she had asked, immediately sensing that something was terribly wrong. Taking a deep, ragged breath, Roseleau had explained. 

There had been one final siege about half an hour after Lena and Jace had left. The zombies had broken the boarded-up windows in the back hall, and migrated to the very room where the wounded were being held. The living hadn't been able to put up much of a fight against the hordes, and weapons were scarce. People panicked. The battle hadn't lasted long at all before no one was left, and the monsters retreated with the newly dead. 

__

There's no one left to save, Lena, he had said. _Just help the ones in the hospital, but take care of yourself. Someone has to make it out of here alive. Someone has to tell everyone what happened here._

He then bid her farewell, and, tearfully, Lena had accepted the last task the sergeant would ever assign to her. 

Now, he strength waning, Roseleau reached for the pictures of his family. School pictures of his children. A wallet-sized photo of his wife and himself standing in the garden of their new home. Closing his eyes, he held the images in his mind's eye, mixing them with the memories until he had a collage of his life. 

His first day of school...first day at the Academy. Meeting his wife, Christy. His wedding day. His promotion to Sergeant. The births of his beautiful children. 

__

Christy and the kids...gone. But not for long. 

Plenty of men in his position would probably going through a state of panic at this point. But not him. He knew that he had done all he could to save those around him. He knew he had lived his life just the way he had wanted to. And he knew that he would be able to see his wife and children again...soon... 


End file.
